We went to the cottage with my in-laws for a little getaway, which was a wonderful break during this really busy time.

Left to right, top row: we saw a deer! me snowshoeing, Guy with Lila and his parents the day after I flew home. Second row: family stroll, Lila chowing down on a smoked meat sandwich, Lila refusing to go in the sled and now I am carrying her. Bottom row: Me pulling Lila in her sled and her screaming about it, the three of us, and if you look at the last photo closely you`ll see little critter footprints and big feathery wing imprints as well. I wonder who won?

Lila was not so into the sledding. At all. In any form. Also, she refuses to wear mittens. Anyone else’s toddler pulling them off the second you get them on? Any tips on this would be most welcome.

I had a totally nuts flight back (yup, I flew. It’s an 8 hour drive to my in-law’s cottage, which we used to drive over night when we were pre-child, but now seems crazy with a little one). I absolutely had to make it to work for Monday morning, and Guy and Lila were staying on an extra day to maximize some grandparent time. My flight was very delayed leaving the airport, and about 5 minutes into the flight, we had to land at another nearby airport because of a baggage door sensor saying that the baggage door was open. We landed, sat there for an hour and a half while mechanics check it out, turns out the cold weather was affecting the sensor but not the baggage door, then we were in a plane line up waiting to get de-iced again (ah, winter flying), and then it was announced that we would have to fly into a nearby airport (Hamilton), because the Toronto city airport doesn’t allow flights to arrive after 11:00 p.m. (Seriously?). Then we were taken back to Toronto via shuttle bus, and was dropped off downtown, where I then took a taxi home…. and I walked through my door at 1:30 a.m., when I was expecting to get home at 8:30 p.m. Not the best travel experience.

But on the plus side, I got a whole heck of a lot of knitting done on my Ravellenic Games Sweater! For those who don`t know, the Ravellenic Games are hosted on Ravelry, and run parallel to the Olympics- it`s alike a great big Knit along, where you cast on during the opening ceremonies and aim to finish your knit before the end of the closing ceremonies. This is the Coolbreeze Baby Sweater, which I’m modifying slightly to be a little bit bigger than the largest size, since my little munchkin is wearing size 2T already. Fun fact- the pattern photo shows Lila modelling the sample sweater, when she was 6 months old.

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14 comments

Hi, I’ve been following your blog for a few months now, but I suppose it’ll be my first comment here. I’m afraid that toddlers all over the world do the same with mittens, hats etc. The sweater for Lila is wonderful – I love the colours!

I have a 2.5 year-old nephew and he does the same thing with his mittens. On my recent trip to New York, I got him some blue M&M mittens from the M&M World store in Time Square. He loves those ones and actually asks to wear them. This kinda makes me think it is all about finding the ‘right’ mittens.
The coolbreeze is looking good! Love the colours, I can’t wait to see it modelled!

It must have been so beautiful in that winter wonderland. Those kinds of experiences would make a miserable winter much more pleasant, for sure. Maybe Lila doesn’t like the feel of mittens and would agree to wear those little tiny stretchy gloves, although I imagine getting them of her fingers might be a job!

That’s a real drag about your very long voyage home. It sounds awful, but coming from someone who lives nearby the city airport, I am glad they have rules about the flight times because the planes are pretty loud even when they fly over the water. Of course, living in a city is going to be noisy, but a plane flying by is extra loud and would drive people bonkers in the middle of the night. Not that having to fly to Hamilton and then having to take a shuttle bus in the middle of the night wouldn’t have driven you bonkers! Sounds like a nightmare. But as you say, you got some beautiful knitting done. The sweater looks like it’s going to be a very nice one.

Looks like a lively winter break. Sorry to hear the re entry was so rough.
None of my kids (3) would wear mittens as a toddler. I felt like a bad mum because if it was above -15 C, I wouldn’t even try. In the end, I just made sure that their coat or sweater sleeves were long enough to pull over their little hands. MEC also make kids fleeces where you can flip the ends of the sleeves closed over their hands and they can’t pull them off.
Anyways… You are definitely not alone!

My daughter is about the same age and does the same thing! The only reason she’s still on the first pair of mittens I knitted her is because I read on one of the ravellry project pages to attach them on the thumb side and thread them through the coat sleeves. She used i-cord, but there’s few things I hate more than knitting i-cord, so I threaded 3, 30 inch lengths of yarn through the cast on edge until they were 15 inches long and braided them. Then I did the same thing for the other mitten and knotted the two together. It isn’t pretty, but it works and she hasn’t lost her mittens yet.

Love the colours for the new cool breeze!
My youngest is about the same age but he’s the complete opposite…loves his mitts. But only one specific pair, heaven help you if you try to put any other mitts on him. Now, my oldest was a mitt hater, so I made mitts that were on the end of sweater sleeves. A simple top down raglan ‘bib’ for the neck/chest part. I’ve used it for all my kids. It’s been a lifesaver.

Brutal travel! I’ve also been affected by Canadian winter travel and had to do the same thing you did – land at Hamilton, get bused back to Pearson, collect bags, then head home. Although I think I came through the door around 3am – ugh! Wish I’d been a knitter then! And look how much you got done! I LOVE that pattern – so pretty – and Lila will look gorgeous in it!

Whoa, that is one crazy travel story!!! I’ve never been in that type of situation, and I most certainly hope I’m never in one (fingers crossed) haha 🙂 That sweater you’re knitting is beautiful. I love the pattern and the colors!

Looks like you’ve had a wonderful family time away from the hustle bustle. Sorry to hear about the extra traveling you had to do… Traveling can be so tiring when things go wrong… I hope you were not too tired on Monday! The new knit looks very pretty – can’t wait to see it on Lila!

Oh my, yes, mittens on toddlers. I swear I’ve put my little one’s mittens on 2,000 times this winter. I knit her a pair with long cuffs that go up almost to her elbows and it kept the mitten pulling at bay for a couple of weeks…. but then she seemed to develop Hulk-like strength and can now pull them off in one try. Ugh.

Your in-laws’ ‘camp’ looks absolutely beautiful. We have a place 4.5 hours north of Toronto but it is on an island and not winterized, so sadly not much chance of winter cottaging for us.

The cottage looks like so much fun!
I’m sorry to hear the journey back was so ridiculous. I’m particularly amused to hear that Hamilton was totally cool with you landing after 11 but Pearson wasn’t. What the?! Oh well. I’ll chalk that one up to one of the (obscure) reasons why my hometown rocks socks. It lets you land after 11 pm.
Your Ravellenics sweater looks great! Love the colour choices.

This comment is coming way late, but I had to mention my current-favourite mittens for littles, mimTENS (http://mimitens.myshopify.com/). They are not-too-thick (but warm) mitts with nylon shells and looooong jersey cuffs; they CAN be pulled off, but at least it’s a bit of a challenge! Super cute designs, and the company is Canadian 😀

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Hi I'm Julie. I love the written word, cozy knits, international travel, domestic pleasures, my quirky british husband, and my two little kids. I help knitters and crafters get inspired by sharing modified knitting projects, round ups of craft ideas and recipes, and reflections on the crafting life. Email Knitted Bliss

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